Shade



April .27, 1965. J. M. GAMBON ETAL 3,180,401

SHADE Filed March 2, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS JOHN M. GAMBON JOHNA. GAMBON FlG. I

ATTORNEYS April 27, 1965 J. M. GAMBON ETAL 3,180,401

SHADE Filed March 2, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F FIG. 8

,INVENTORS JOHN M. GAMBON JOHN A- GAMBON ATTORNEYS United States Patent3,188,461 SHADE John M. Ganihon and .lohn A. Gamhon, St. Louis, Mo.,assignors of one-sixth each to Thomas F. Gambon and James M. GambianFiled Mar. 2, 1962, Ser. No. 176,988 7 Claims. (Cl. 160265) Thisinvention relates to a shade, and especially to a shade that can berolled or unrolled to any position where it is then held by a tensionelement.

This shade comprises a drum or rod about which a flexible shade isrolled or unrolled as the drum is rotated. The ends of the drum arejournaled in brackets that are mounted on opposite sides of an opening,such as a window or cabinet opening or the like. The ends of a cord areattached to opposite ends of the drum. In intermediate portion of thecord is supported by a rod carried by the trailing end of the shade. Thecord extends in parallel lengths from its end connections to the drumaround pulleys at the end of the opening opposite the drum and then tothe opposite ends of the rod. The ends of the cord are wound about thedrum in the opposite direction in which the shade rolls. Therefore, asthe shade unrolls, tending to shorten the cord, the cord rolls onto thedrum in compensation.

The cord is always kept taut by spring tension means. In the preferredembodiment of the invention, there are short, conical spools at each endof the drum about which the ends of the cord are wound, and one of thesespools is biased by a torsion spring to rotate in a direction tending toWind the cord upon it. This tension force is opposed by the tension ofthe cord between the ends which are wound about the conical spools andthe intermediate section which is supported by the rod carried by thetrailing end of the shade. Therefore, the ends of the cord tend torotate the drum to roll the shade whereas the intermediate section ofthe cord pulls upon the rod and tends to unroll the shade. This tensionforce is made greater than the normal gravitational force tending tounroll the shade and is, therefore, sufliciently great to hold the shadein any position.

An object of this invention is to provide a shade which is mounted toroll and unroll upon a drum with cord means attached between the ends ofthe drum and the trailing edge of the shade and with means to maintain atension in the cord means so that the shade will be held in any positionwithout additional catches or locks.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shade that is controlledby tension cord means which provide an automatic self-alignment for theshade.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shade with cord meansconnected between the drum upon which the shade is supported and thetrailing edge of the shade, with means for maintaining tension in thecord means and means for maintaining the tension uniform on oppositesides of the shade.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the escription tofollow.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation view of the invention with certain partsshown in section;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary section view on an enlarged scale taken alongthe line 2-2 of FIGURE 1',

FIGURE 3 is a view in section on an enlarged scale taken along the line33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary view in section taken along the line 4-4 ofFIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged end section view of the shade rod and the shaderod guide together with a portion of the cord;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary elevation view of a conical spool and an endof the drum;

FIGURE 7 is an isometric view of a pulley and its supporting bracket;and

FIGURE 8 is a side elevation view in section of a modified means formaintaining tension on the cord.

The shade is illustrated as being supported by the sides S of a Windowframe W. This environment is probably the most common for the shade, butit has a number of other uses as will be apparent when the shade hasbeen described. In any event, the general structural features andoperating principles of the shade remain the same, regardless of the useto which it is put.

This shade comprises a drum 10 supported between brackets 11 which arefastened to opposite sides and near one end of an opening, such as theopening in the Window frame W. The drum 10 may be made of variousmaterials, but it is preferably and most economically made of wood.

Two conical spools 12 and 13 are fastened to the ends of the drum 1%.Each spool has a frusto-conical surface between inner and outer stoprims l4 and 15, respectively. The smaller end of each frusto-conicalspool is toward the outer rim 15. Different fastening means, however,are used to attach each of the spools l2 and 13 to the drum 10. Thespool 12 is simply fastened by nails or screws 16 or other suitableknown fasteners. A pin 17 is driven axially through the spool 12 andinto the end of the drum 10. This pin 17 has a head 18 which pro jectsbeyond the end of the spool 12 and which is received within a hole 19 inthe bracket 11. The pin 17 also has a bearing shoulder 20 that spacesthe spool 12 from the bracket 11.

There is an entirely dififerent fastening means at the other end of thedrum 10. As shown in FIGURE 3, a bore or recess 21 extends from the leftend of the drum Ill a substantial distance axially into the drum. Thereis a long, pointed rod 22 of smaller diameter than the diameter of thebore 21. The rod 22, however, has a larger cylindrical head 23 on itsend which keeps the rod 22 substantially axially aligned within the bore21. The head 23 also has a hole through it which receives a pin 24 thatis driven through a diameter of the drum It to lock the rod 22 in place.

The spool 13 has a rod 25 extending axially from it, which is similar tobut shorter than the rod 17 on the other spool 12. The projecting end 26of the rod 25 extends Within a hole 27 in the bracket 11 and an annularshoulder 28 separates the spool 13 from the bracket 11.

The spool 13 has a dowel 29 that extends inwardly rom its center in thebore 21. The dowel 29 is of smaller diameter than the bore 21, but thereis a bushing 36 between the dowel 29 and the inner surface of the bore21. The bushing 30 keeps the dowel 29 axially aligned within the bore 21while permitting rotation of the spool 13 and its dowel 29. There is aconical recess 31 in the end of the dowel which receives the pointed endof the rod 22 and centers the rod 22 within the bore 21.

The dowel 29 has a transverse bore 32 through it which receives an end33 of a coil spring 34. The other end 35 of the coil spring is lockedWithin a similar bore in the rod 22.. As shown in FIGURE 3,the coilspring 34 is wrapped loosely around the rod 22. The coil spring permitsthe conical spool 13 to be wound up about the end of the drum 19.

There is a small countersunk bore 36 through the conical spool 13 whichreceives a small pin 37. A light coil spring 33 biases the pin 37outwardly from the spool 13. There is a small recess 39 in the end ofthe drum 10 within which the pin 37 can be projected if the spool 13 ispositioned properly. T o prevent the pin from wearing an excessivelylarge hole in the wood drum 10, a metal 3 wear plate 39 is press-fittedor riveted to the send drum it There is a hole 39" through the plate 39'in line with the hole 39. This allows the spool 13 to be locked in placeafter it has been wound against the torsional force of the spring 34.When the spool 13 is so wound, the force of the spring 34 issufficiently great to hold the pin 37 by friction within the recess 39and prevent the spool from unwinding.

shade 40 is doubled over and sewed in a loop within:

er the f However, the pin 37 is which is supported a rod 42. The rod 42extends lengthwise of the loop end 41, and, in a preferred embodiment ofthe invention, a pair of block guide members 43 and 44 are fastened tothe ends of the rod 42. The block guide members 43 and 44 extend withinchannel members 45 which are attached to the sides S of the window frameW. l

A pair of pulleys 47 and 48 are fastened to the lower ends of the sidesS. Each of the, pulleys 47 and 48 is opposite a conical spool 12 or 13.V

A flexible cord St} has an end 51 fastened to the spool 12 adjacent theouter side 15 thereof. The cord is Wound about the spool 12 in asufficient number'ofturns so that there is at least part of a turn whenthe shade 40 is com- 7 pletely. rolled. The direction in which thecordis wound about the spool 12 is opposite'to the direction in whichthe shade rolls about the drum'ltl. Therefore, as the shade 4t unrolls,the cord rolls upon the spool 12.

The cord has a length 52 which extends downwardly pensates for thechanging'diarneter of-that part of the shade which is rolled around thedrum 1% as the shade rolls and unrolls. However, any small changes 'inthe length of the unrolled cord are immediately taken up by the springwound spoollS which will readily unwind if the cord gets longer andwhich will wind if the cord 'gets shorter.

It should be observed here that the cord 4% is freely slidable withinthe slot 56 in the shade rod 42. This permits changes in unwound cordlengths on either side of the shade St} to be taken care of by the spool13. The

7 freedom of the cord to slide in the slot 56 also assures 'that eventension in the 'cord 59' will be 'maintained throughout its length onboth sides of the shade 40. Therefore the shade can be rolled orunrolled by moving the rod 42 up or down with forces applied at thecenter of the rod 42 or to either side of center. Also, if a side of theshade is whipped about in the Wind or the shade is otherwise temporarilyunaligned; the uniform cord tension will quickly realign the shade. V

V In addition to compensating for the changing shade diameter around thedrum ltljthe conical spools 12 and 13 cause the cord to wind in evenrows without tangling.

v smallest diameter available, which is always the space from the'spool12 to the pulley 47 and then has a length 53 which extends upwardly fromthe pulley 47 into a recess 54 in the lower side of the guide block 43.The

' cord 50 is positioned within the recess 54 in the guide block 43 by apin 55 past which the cord is turned. The rod 42. has a groove 56 in itslower side, and the cord Ell hasa length 57 which passes through thegroove from pin 55 and extends to a similar pin 58 that is within arecess '59 in the guide block 44. Thenthe cord 50 has a length 60 fromthe pin 58 to the pulley 48 and. a length 61 7 -The spring biased spool13 maintains the, cord 54 in tension because the direction in which the'cord is wound around the spool is such thatthe pull of the cord tendsto Wind up the spool about the end of the drurnlt). This pull of thecord is opposed by the force of the torsion spring 34 which tends tounwind the spool. The force of the spring 34 can be adjusted by theamount of alongside the last loop wound on each spool.

The installation of the shade should now be apparent. The pulley 12 isnailed or screwed to one end of the drum ll}. Then the end 35 of thecoil spring 34 is connected into thebore in the rodc22 and the end 33 isconnected 13 easier Then the spool ISis wound about the end.

of the drum 11 in the same direction as that in which the shade isrolled. Thus, the spool tends, to unwind in the opposite direction tothat in which the shade is rolled.

When the spool 13 hasbeen wound sufiiciently to attain a desiredunwinding force on the spring 34, it is temporarily locked in place bydepression of the pin 37 into the recess 39 in the end of the drum ll).Although the spring 33 biases the pin. outwardly, when the spool13 isreleased, the'force of thespring 34 presses the endof the pin 37 againstthe side wall of the recess 39 and the pin is held in place by a bindingfriction force. i V

The cord 5i) is'now passed through the slot 56 in the underside of therod 42 and is drawn through that slot until its center portion 57 iswithin the slot. Then the parts of the cord" which extend beyond theends of the rod 42 are passed around the pins and 53 and aroundprewinding given'to the spool 13'before its position .is

tending to roll up the shadow, but there is an equal and opposite pullexerted upon the rod 42 by the cord lengths 53 and 6t) tending tounr'oll the shade 4t}. These forces are maintained regardless of theposition of the shade because as the shade rolls up,v the cord 5%.unrolls' from the spools 12 and 13, tending to maintain the lengths ofcord j between'the rod 42 and the spools constant. Further more, theconical shape of the spools 12 and 13 comthe pulleys 47 and 43. Then theends of the cord 50 are Wound at least part of a turn around smallerends of the pulleys '12and 13 in the opposite direction from that inwhich] the shade 40: is wound around the drum 7 10, and the ends 51 and62 are fastened to the pulleys 7 used, the assembly which provides thetorsion spring 34 is eliminated and, instead',1the spool 13 is nailed orscrewed directly'to the end of the drum 1% as is the I V spool 12.

'The device of FIGURE' 8 comprises a dual pulley assembly 7 1?,including a shaft 71, that is mounted to a side S of the window frame W.Two pulleys '72 and the pulleys has a central sleeve '74 that revolvesaround the shaft 71. The other pulley '73 has a central sleeve 75 thatextends in the opposite direction from that of the sleeve 74 andrevolves around the sleeve 74. Both of the sleeves are of about equallength to the combined width of the pulleys 72 and 73 to give stabilityto the pulleys and prevent wobbling. The pulleys are held on the shaftby a lock ring 76 and are spaced from the side S (or from a mountingplate) by a bushing 77. The outer end '78 of a torsion spring or clockspring 79 is connected to the outer side of the pulley 72, and the innerend 89 of the spring is connected to the sleeve '75 of tie pulley 73.The pulleys 72 and 73 are wound relative to one another to build up anunwinding force in the torsion spring 79. Then the cord length 52 (or61) is made much longer and is cut and the resulting upper and lowerends are fastened to different ones of the pulleys 72 and '73 and areWound many turns around these pulleys.

These cord ends '79 and 30 are wound around the pulleys 72 and '73 in adirection opposite to the unwinding force of the torsion spring '78.Hence, the spring F8 maintains a tension on the cord. The spring alsocompensates for changes in length of the cord 56 as the shade 49 isrolled and unrolled.

The first embodiment described is preferred to that of FIGURE 8 becauseit hides the torsion spring 34 in the drum it In fact, the entiretension assembly of FIGURE 1, including the spools 12 and 13, thepulleys 47 and 43 and the cord 5i) can he recessed within the sides S ofthe window frame, if desired.

This shade can be used over a window as illustrated, but it has manyother possible uses, such as for cabinet fronts, motion picture screens,sliding doors, garage doors, and the like. can be installed to movehorizontally, as Well as vertically. The shade also lends itself to amtorized operation whereby a motor rotates the drum to roll and unrollthe shade. The motorized operation is especially useful when the shadeis out of reach as when it covers high gymnasium WiHdOWS.

The shade (or sheet) 49 may be made of cloth or plastic, etc., but itcan also be made of series of connected thin members which individuallyare rigid, such as aluminum, bamboo, or other slat material.

Various changes and modifications may be made within the process of thisinvention as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, Suchchanges and modifications are within the scope and teaching of thisinvention as defined by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. A shade comprising a drum, a first frusto-conical spool fixed to oneend of the drum, a second frustoconical spool supported by the other endof the drum, means for mounting the spools for rotation on oppositesides of an opening adjacent an end thereof, an axial bore in the drumadjacent the second frusto-conical spool, a torsion spring in the borehaving one end connected to the drum, the second spool having a dowelprojecting into the bore, the other end of the spring being connected tothe dowel whereby the second spool is rotatable relative to the drum androtation of the second spool produces an opposing moment in the torsionspring, a cord having a first end attached to the first spool adjacentthe smaller end thereof and a second end attached to the second spooladjacent the smaller end thereof, the cord being wound about the spoolsin a direction opposite to the direction of rotation in which the secondspool is biased by the torsion spring, a flexible sheet having an edgeattached to the drum, the sheet being rolled about the drum in adirection opposite to that in which the cord is Wound about the spools,a rod supported by the edge of the sheet furthest from the drum, agroove in the rod, the cord having a central part received within thegroove, means at opposite ends of the In these various applications, theshade rod to hold the cord in the groove While permitting the cord toslide in the groove, a projecting member on each side of the openingadjacent the end of the opening opposite the drum, the part of the corddepending from tht first spool extending around the projecting member onthe first spool side of the opening and then extending to the adjacentend of the rod, the part of the cord depending from the second spoolextending around the projecting member on the second spool side of theopenin" and then extending to the adjacent end of the rod.

2. The shade of claim 1 wherein there are guide members along the sidesof the opening and elements at each end of the rod for maintainingcontact with the guide members.

3. The shade of claim 2 wherein the guide members comprise channels andthe elements comprise blocks slidable within the channels.

4. The shade of claim 1 including a pin in the second spool, and arecess in the drum for receiving an end of the pin to lock the secondspool against rotation relative to the drum, a compression spring forbiasing the pin out of the recess, the force of the torsion spring beingsufnciently great to retain the pin within the recess.

5. The shade of claim 1 including a rod Within the bore about which thetorsion spring is wound to prevent its entanglement.

6. The shade of claim 5 wherein the rod has a point on its end adjacentthe dowel, the point being pressed into the dowel to center the rod.

7. A shade comprising a drum, a first spool fixed to one end of thedrum, a second spool supported by the other end of the drum, means formounting the spools for rotation on opposite sides of an openingadjacent an end thereof, an axial bore in the drum adjacent the secondspool, a torsion spring in the bore having one end connected to thedrum, the other end of the spring being connected to the second spoolwhereby the second spool is rotatable relative to the drum and rotationof the second spool produces an opposing movement in the torsion spring,a cord having a first end attached to the first spool and a second endattached to the second spool, the cord being Wound about the spools in adirection opposite to the direction of rotation in which the secondspool is biased by the torsion spring, flexible sheet means having anedge attached to the drum, the sheet means being rolled about the drumin a direction opposite to that in which the cord is wound about thespools, a rod supported by the edge of the sheet furthest from the drum,a groove in the rod, the cord having a central part received within thegroove, means to hold the cord in the groove While permitting the cordto slide in the groove, a projecting member on each side of the openingadjacent the end of the opening opposite the drum, the part of the corddepending from the first spool extending around the projecting member onthe first spool side of the opening and then extending to the adjacentend of the rod, the part of the cord depending from the second spoolextending around the projecting member on the second spool side of theopening and then extending to the adjacent end of the rod.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 634,189 10/99Smyser -279 640,291 1/00 Forsyth 160-265 673,779 5/01 Morgan 160265812,134 2/06 Janes l60279 1,134,326 4/15 Gambon. 1,303,678 5/19 Joseph160265 1,734,800 11/29 Faulds l60265 2,696,249 12/54 Prokop et al 1603l5HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner.

LAWRENCE CHARLES, CHARLES E. OCONNELL,

Examiners.

7. A SHADE COMPRISING A DRUM, A FIRST SPOOL FIXED TO ONE END OF THEDRUM, A SECOND SUPPORTED BY THE OTHER END OF THE DRUM, MEANS FORMOUNTING THE SPOOLS FOR ROTATION ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF AN OPENINGADJACENT AN END THEREOF, AN AXIAL BORE IN THE DRUM ADJACENT THE SECONDSPOOL, A TORSION SPRING IN THE BORE HAVING ONE END CONNECTED TO THEDRUM, THE OTHER END THE SPRING BEING CONNECTED TO THE SECOND SPOOLWHEREBY THE SECOND SPOOL IS ROTATABLE RELATIVE TO THE DRUM AND ROTATIONOF THE SECOND SPOOL PRODUCES AN OPPOSING MOVEMENT IN THE TORSION SPRING,A CORD HAVING A FIRST END ATTACHED TO THE FIRST SPOOL AND A SECOND ENDATTACHED TO THE SECOND SPOOL, THE CORD BEING WOUND ABOUT THE SPOOLS IN ADIRECTION OPPOSITE TO THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION IN WHICH THE SECONDSPOOL IS BIASED BY THE TORSION SPRING, FLEXIBLE SHEET MEANS HAVING ANEDGE ATTACHED TO THE DRUM, THE SHEET MEANS BEING ROLLED ABOUT THE DRUMIN A DIRECTION OPPOSITE TO THAT IN WHICH THE CORD IS WOUND ABOUT THESPOOLS, A ROD SUPPORTED BY THE EDGE OF THE SHEET FURTHEST FROM THE DRUM,A GROOVE IN THE ROD, THE CORD HAVING A CENTRAL PART RECEIVED WITHIN THEGROOVE, MEANS TO HOLD THE CORD IN THE GROOVE WHILE PERMITTING THE CORETO SLIDE IN THE GROOVE, A PROJECTING MEMBER ON EACH SIDE OF THE OPENINGADJACENT THE END OF THE OPENING OPPOSITE THE DRUM, THE PART OF THE CORDDEPENDING FROM THE FIRST SPOOL EXTENDING AROUND THE PROJECTING MEMBER ONTHE FIRST SPOOL SIDE OF THE OPENING AND THEN EXTENDING TO THE ADJACENTEND OF THE ROD, THE PART OF THE CORD DEPENDING FROM THE SECOND SPOOLEXTENDING AROUND THE PROJECTING MEMBER ON THE SECOND SPOOL SIDE OF THEOPENING AND THEN EXTENDING TO THE ADJACENT END OF THE ROD.